Teachers Rally Against Compton Unified School Reopening Proposal
COMPTON (CBSLA) -- Some teachers in the Compton Unified School District are protesting a proposal to reopen schools on October 5 for select students, including those with moderate to severe special needs and English Language Learners.
Opponents of the plan to bring back limited in-person learning say the district has not yet made safety plans clear to help prevent the transmission of coronavirus.
Members of the Compton Education Association (CEA) on Saturday drove by the homes of school board members with writings on their cars, highlighting their concerns about prematurely reopening schools.
Some pleas on their vehicles read "Can't teach dead... protect kids and teachers," "Masks are disposable, teachers aren't," among others.
"We have evidence of unsanitary conditions that are not healthy for the students to come back to," said CEA President Agbo-ola Dada. "We want the community to know they're going to be sending their kids into danger if they allow them to come back."
Members also say the district is also failing to provide proper personal protective equipment to teachers.
The district pushed back saying they are following state and county guidelines and taking measures to keep faculty, staff and students safe.
They said special education and English Language Learning students, who will be allowed to return to in-person learning, are currently falling behind the most during the pandemic and aren't getting their most critical needs met through distance learning.
According to the district, two-thirds of the parents of those students say they are comfortable sending their children back to school to participate in small learning pods.
The pushback within the Compton Unified School District is similar to other debates taking place between teachers in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, whose students are expected to start returning to in-person learning beginning next week.